This Week in History: April 23rd - April 29th

Coming towards the end of April now, there still doesn’t seem to be any slowing down as far as interesting historical factoids are concerned! As always, we’re here to help you learn more about the wild and wonderful world we’ve come from – by looking at what happened this week going back years, decades and even centuries. Strap in and let’s take a ride down memory lane!

April 23rd, 1564 and 1616 – Shakespeare is Born – and DiesA bizarre twist of fate that awaited one of our most celebrated wordsmiths – William Shakespeare, the legendary Bard and perhaps the most-quoted playwright of all time, was not only born on this day in 1564, he died on this day in 1616! One has to wonder – what sort of birthday party did the man endure?!

April 24th, 1184 BC – The Trojan Horse EmergesWhile the exact date of the Greeks entering Troy is slightly up for debate, this is largely regarded as the day that an enormous wooden horse made its way to the city in the guise of a gift – only to bear a surprise ambush in the bargain.

April 25th, 1792 – The First Use of the Guillotine in FranceYikes – while this particularly grisly method of execution has thankfully long since gone out of fashion just about everywhere, the French first put it to use on a highwayman back in 1792.

April 26th, 1986 – The Chernobyl DisasterIt’s still regarded as the worst nuclear accident in history – and as a Russian nuclear reactor exploded in Chernobyl on this day back in 1986, 31 lives would be lost and concern over radioactive energy spreading across the continent would be on the rise.

April 27th, 1965 – The Disposable Diaper DebutsParents haven’t always had it so good – as Pampers, on behalf of creator RC Duncan, found its patent 58 years ago this week!

April 28th, 1902 – The Billionth Minute in HistoryYes – even a century plus ago – we’d already celebrated a billion minutes since the year dot – based upon the Gregorian calendar.

April 29th, 1990 – The Berlin Wall Demolition BeginsThe first sign of the end of the Cold War was the bringing down of the wall between East and West Germany – and on this day 28 years ago, demolition cranes were taken to the wall for the first time.

With an independent catalogue five albums deep and nearly 300 million on-demand streams accumulated largely in the last year and a half alone, Cody Johnson has established himself as an industrious and..